Nonrefillable bottle



Filed May 5, 1947 INVENTOR. WALTER KEE NAN ATTO N EY Patented June 14, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to non-refillable bottles or devices adapted to be attached to the neck of ordinary bottles to prevent refilling said bottle.

Various costly liquids such as perfumes, liquors, and medicines are sold in special bottles as a mark of distinction and identification of the brand or manufacturer. T prevent pirating, manufacturers have gone to the trouble and expense of providing means for preventing the reuse of a bottle. Various nonrefihable bottle tops have been scientifically designed to prevent fluid from entering the bottle once the top has been attached to the bottle after the original filling.

The usual position of a bottle being filled or refilled is upright or approximately vertical. A ball type valve, in combination with offset passages to prevent tampering with the ball valve, adapted to prevent refilling a bottle in its vertical position is disclosed in the patent to Keenan, Number 2,047,270,

Even such a device may be defeated at considerable trouble by subjecting the bottle to a vacuum and thereby exhausting the air from the bottle. Then, by holding the bottle in an inverted position and submerging its neck in a liquid maintained at atmospheric or higher pressures, the bottle could be refilled.

The general object of this invention is to provide means for preventing a bottle from being refilled either by gravity or by vacuum.

Another object of this invention is to provide a float valve in an intermediate chamber whereby the float valve will operate to block the inlet to the bottle when the bottle is inverted and the intermediate chamber becomes filled with liquid.

Still another object is to provide a conically shaped valve seat on the surface of the intermediate chamber surrounding the passages connectin the float valve chamber to the ball valve chamber, in combination with a conically shaped float valve for blocking those passages.

It is also an object to provide the float valve with a serrated edge to prevent it from adhering to the ceiling or head plate of the intermediate chamber. Other objects and advantages will appear in the detailed description herebelow.

The single figure of the drawing is an elevation of the device illustrated in cross section and showing a preferred form of the invention.

In detail, the drawing includes a housing It mounted on a bottle I l, and permanently fastened to the bottle by means of a sealing compound or other suitable material (not shown) in the areas l2 and I3 about the flanged portion [4 of the bottle neck. The internal structure provides an outer chamber !5, an intermediate or float valve chamber l6, and an inner or ball valve chamber ll.

All structural features of the device are symmetrically designed in relation to a common axis and are positioned in radial or axial relation thereto. The annular outer chamber [5 is connected by radial passages l8 to the axial spout or external pouring passage E9. The outer chamber I 5 is formed by the annular head 20 and housing ill. Multiple passages 2 I, parallel to the common axi and at right angles to the radial passages l8 are provided in the base 22 of element 20 to provide communication between the intermediate or float chamber I6 and the outer chamber I5.

A valve body 23 is designed as a conically shaped element adapted to be assembled by press fit into a recess 24 formed in the base 22 of head 28. The flanged portion 25 is constructed with a conical periphery 26 in alignment with the conical peripheries of the top and bottom flanges of the head 20 whereby they may act as bearing surfaces when assembled into the housing in which has a conical internal bore 21.

An annular ring 28 forming a valve seat 29 for ball valve 30 is provided with a bore 3! forming a passage between the ball valve chamber l1 and the inside of bottle I l. The ring 28 is adapted to assemble into the valve body 23 by means of press fit at the bore 32 and rest against the flange Id of the bottle II I.

Radial passages 33 in valve body 23 connect the intermediate or float valve chamber IE to the inner or ball chamber ll. An annular float valve 34 is located in the intermediate chamber IE and is provided with a conical bore 35 adapted to coincide with that portion of the conical surface 36 of body 23 surrounding the passages 33. The annular float valve 34 is provided with a serrated upper edge 37 to prevent it from adhering to the lower surface of base 22 of head 20. A second position of both the float valve 34 and ball valve 30 are shown in dotted lines.

In operation, when the bottle is tipped for pouring, the ball valve 3i! is shifted off its seat 29 to the position shown in dotted lines in the upper part of chamber I'!. The liquid in ball valve chamber ii then enters passages 33 and tends to expand the annular float valve 34 radially and force it upward off its seat surrounding the passages 33. Liquid can then flow freely from the inner chamber H through the radial passages 33 into the intermediate chamber l6. From the chamber It the liquid will pass in turn through axial passages 2|, outer chamber l5, radial passages [8 into the axial spout l9 and thence poured into an external container.

When the device is in an upright position as shown, the ball valve 30 is held on its seat by gravity, and thereby prevents liquid from being poured into the bottle. If an attempt is made to fill the bottle by evacuating the air therefrom and inverting the bottle, as soon as liquid enters the intermediate chamber 16, the annular float valve 34 will be raised to the position shown in the drawing whereby the radial passages 33 will be sealed along the outer conical surface 36 of the valve body 23.

I have thus described a novel non-refillable bottle which prevents the admission of liquid either by gravity or by vacuum, and regardless of whether the bottle is held in an upright-or inverted osition. This isaccomplished by a combination gravity ball valve and a float valve adapted to operate cooperatively or independen'tly.

It is understood that the invention is not'limited to the specific construction or arrangement of parts shown but that they may be modified within the invention defined by the claim.

I claim:

The combination with a bottle of a device .for rendering the bottle non-refillable including a housing provided with conically shaped internal 30 bore, a valve body including a head portion mounted in said housing and provided with three conically shaped flanges adapted to fit the internal bore of the housing and partition oii an outer chamber and an intermediate float valve chamber respectively, axial passages inter-connecting said chambers, a ball Valve and seat mounted in the internal bore of the valve body and normally closed when the bottle is held in a vertical position, a radial passage connecting the internal bore of the valve body to the intermediate float valve chamber, an annular float valve mounted on the valve body in the float valve chamber and adapted to move axially and close the radial passage when the bottle is inverted and the float valve chamber filled with fluid, a serrated upper edge on the float valve to prevent the valve from adhering to the ceiling of the intermediate chamber after the bottle has been inverted for pouring.

WALTER KEENAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in Jthe file of .this patent:

'UNI'r ED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,047,270 Keenan July 14, .1936 2,095,868 Herbert Oct. 12, 1937 

